The Prophecy of Bane
"The Prophecy of Bane" is one of Sandwich's prophecies. It is inscribed on the right wall of the prophecy room, and directly followed Sandwich's previous prophecy, "The Prophecy of Gray." Content If Under fell, if Over leaped, if life was death, if death life reaped, Something rises from the gloom to make the Underland a tomb. Hear it scratching down below, rat of long forgotten snow, Evil cloaked in coat of white, will the warrior drain your light? What will turn the warrior weak? What do burning Gnawers seek? Just a barely speaking pup who holds the land of Under up. Die the baby die his heart, die his most essential part. Die the peace that rules the hour. Gnawers have their key to power. Interpretation The first two lines of the first stanza refer to the events carried out in "The Prophecy of Gray". Because the outcome of "The Prophecy of Gray" could not even be predicted by Sandwich himself, these lines start with this If Under fell, if Over leaped, If life was death, if death life reaped, Under refers to the Underlander Henry, whom fell from a cliff to his death. Over refers to the Overlander Gregor, whom leaped off the cliff but was saved by the flier Ares. The second line comes from "The Prophecy of Gray" as well, which stated that "life may be death, and death life again reaps." (See The Prophecy of Gray for interpretation of second line.) Something rises from the gloom To make the Underland a tomb. These two lines warn of an evil that will come out of hiding and will try to "make the Underland a tomb" once it has revealed itself. Hear it scratching down below, Rat of long-forgotten snow, Evil cloaked in coat of white Historically, an abnormally large, white gnawer is referred to as a Bane. They appear every few generations or so and gather followers to "create a reign of terror." These lines confirm that the "Something" mentioned in the first stanza is actually a Bane. Will the warrior drain your light? This line foretells that the Warrior, first mentioned in "The Prophecy of Gray," will be given a chance to kill the Bane that is coming. The prophecy does not make it clear whether the Warrior will actually go through with it. What could turn the warrior weak? What do burning gnawers seek? Just a barely speaking pup, Who holds the land of Under up. This stanza tells the reader more about the Bane. It also hints at what could happen if the warrior doesn't make the right choice. The Bane or Boots is "just a barely speaking pup" when the warrior is to find him, but should he fall into the hands of the gnawers, or should the warrior make the wrong choice, the entirety of the Underland could fall. Die the baby, die his heart, Die his most essential part. In these two lines, it elaborates on what that choice will be; the choice to kill the Bane because of what might happen in the future, or to let it live. If he chooses to kill it, he will never be able to live with himself, pretty much making himself immune to emotion; losing his heart, which sets him apart from the other warriors of the Underland. Die the peace that rules the hour. Gnawers have their key to power. In the final couple of lines, it states that if the baby dies, the gnawers will rally against the Underlanders, starting a war. If the warrior kills the pup, the gnawers will all want to avenge the innocent rat. So many gnawers rallying would be the destruction of the humans. Appearances * Gregor the Overlander * Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane Notes and references Bane, The Prophecy of